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Taern "Thunderspells" Hornblade was the High Mage of the city of Silverymoon[7][8], having succeeded Alustriel when she took the office of High Lady, and member of the Council of the Marches.[9]

Show me Alustriel's will, and I'll firmly label it the right way — for so it is, and can only continue to be.
— Taern speaking before the Council of the Marches[10]

Description[]

Taern was tall and gray-bearded, appearing grave and thoughtful most of the time.[3]

Personality[]

Although reckless in his youth, in his later years Taern preferred to avoid confrontations. By striving for consensus where possible and working hard at building friendships, Taern tended to reach decisions through alliance with others.[3]

Abilities[]

A powerful Evoker, Taern's nickname, "Thunderspell", was earned during his early Magefair duels where his mastery of potent battle-spells became known.[3] During his tenure among the Spellguard he showed his prowess in defense of Silverymoon by facing off against a dracolich.[4]

Relationships[]

Taern had a deep and abiding love of Alustriel.[3]

Possessions[]

Taern's signature weapon was his namesake longsword Hornblade, which is a famous and heavily enchanted blade.[3] It had a number of magical properties that are extremely useful to Taern, as well as being a potent weapon in its own right. It had the sending ability, allowing messages to be sent to multiple recipients; the power to store two spells within it, rather that one; and an attunement with the ward initiates if Silverymoon, requiring their grasp to function correctly.[3]

Taern had a rat familiar called Vesk.[3]

History[]

Born in 1204 DR[4][5][note 1] Taern earned his nickname, "Thunderspell", early in his life from attending magefair duels and showcasing his deadly battle-spells.[3] He is also a longtime member of the Harpers.[3]

Taern founded the Spellguard of Silverymoon in 1255 DR as a bodyguard unit to protect Alustriel.[5][1]

In 1361 DR, Taern and Alustriel defeated two archmages of the Cult of the Dragon that had arrived outside Silverymoon. However while Alustriel was drawn away from the city, Taern and his Spellguard were forced to battle a Dracolich that had assaulted the southern walls.[4]

Sometime before 1372 DR, Thunderspell created cloaks of protection versus chaos in preparation to defending his some, Silverymoon, from an army of deadly and chaotic orcish army. Many of these cloaks were given out to the defenders of the city, its rangers and fighters. With years passing, many of these enchanted cloaks found their way into many places along the Sword Coast.[11]

Before taking over the supreme office of the city he was the leader of the Spellguard of Silverymoon.[9]

During the 1480s DR,[note 2] the leader of Luruar Methrammar Aerasumé sent Taern, who remained in good health thanks to potions of longevity, as his delegate at the Council of Waterdeep, formed to deal with the emergent Cult of the Dragon. Methrammar selected Taern for his high diplomatic skills.[12]

Activities[]

Hornblade sat as a Peer on the Council of the Marches representing Silverymoon, though he followed Alustriel's wishes whenever they were expressed.[10]

Appendix[]

Notes[]

  1. Although The Grand History of the Realms lists Taern's date of birth as 1304 DR this date conflicts with other works which cite Taern as being active prior to then. Most notably the founding of the Spellguard of Silverymoon in 1255 DR, which Taern was famously responsible for. In Ed's Candlekeep responses he points out the discrepancies of Taern's exacting birth. From these two sources we can see that the Grand History is either a misprint or merely the 'public', rather than true, birthdate of Taern. Hence this article has settled on 1204 DR as a compromise. Feel free to discuss this in the talk page.
  2. Canon material does not provide a year for the Tyranny of Dragons storyline, but in a forum post, Greg Marks stated it was set in 1489 DR. However, the events of the Tyranny of Dragons are discussed in the novel Archmage, which is set in 1485/1486 DR and has events that necessarily put it after The Rise of Tiamat. Since this inconsistency has not been cleared up, this wiki will use the vague term "1480s DR" for events related to this storyline, though it is most likely no latter than 1486 DR.

Appearances[]

Adventures

Referenced only
Storm King's Thunder

Novels & Short Stories

Referenced only
Ghostwalker

Video Games

Referenced only
Neverwinter Nights

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl (July 2002). Silver Marches. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 92. ISBN 0-7869-2835-2.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ed Greenwood (January 2005). “When a Good Man Loses His Head”. Silverfall (Wizards of the Coast), p. 167. ISBN 0-7869-3572-3.
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl (July 2002). Silver Marches. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 60. ISBN 0-7869-2835-2.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 146. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Hooded One (2012-08-30). Questions for Ed Greenwood (2012) (30). p. 43. Retrieved on 2013-12-19.
  6. slade, et al. (April 1996). “Cities & Civilization”. In James Butler ed. The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier (TSR, Inc.), p. 45. ISBN 0-7869-0391-0.
  7. slade, et al. (April 1996). “Cities & Civilization”. In James Butler ed. The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier (TSR, Inc.), p. 51. ISBN 0-7869-0391-0.
  8. Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 82. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
  9. 9.0 9.1 slade, et al. (April 1996). “Cities & Civilization”. In James Butler ed. The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier (TSR, Inc.), p. 55. ISBN 0-7869-0391-0.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl (July 2002). Silver Marches. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 101. ISBN 0-7869-2835-2.
  11. BioWare (June 2002). Designed by Brent Knowles, James Ohlen. Neverwinter Nights. Atari.
  12. Steve Winter, Alexander Winter, Wolfgang Baur (November 2014). The Rise of Tiamat. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-0786965656.

Connections[]

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